As impact of BART strike eases in Marin, a look at what might have been

Though this week's BART strike has had little overall impact in Marin, the story could have been much different had everything gone as planners envisioned more than 50 years ago.

It's now a footnote in the Marin history books while hundreds of thousands of commuters elsewhere in the Bay Area have come to depend on the regional rail system that connects San Francisco and points east and south.

Those commuters were stranded again Wednesday as the strike that began Monday continued to wreak traffic havoc on regional roadways. For drivers struck in traffic, carpools and the FasTrak lanes on Bay Area bridges continue to be a popular alternative. On Wednesday, officials at the Bay Area Toll Authority said drivers bought 2,073 new FasTrak transponders on Sunday and Monday, up 60 percent from the same two-day stretch a week before, when there were 1,294 orders. As the week wore on, the California Highway Patrol reported increasing backups in the FasTrak lanes at the Bay Bridge toll plaza.

Meanwhile, both the transit agency and unions returned to the bargaining table Wednesday afternoon.

The strike did produce an increase in Larkspur ferry passengers earlier in the week, but Wednesday the system saw a drop of 74 riders in comparison to recent Wednesdays. And the Golden Gate Bridge saw 1,500 fewer drivers during the morning commute, compared with previous Wednesdays.

"It's slow in our system; most likely because of the holiday Thursday, people are off," said Mary Currie, Golden Gate Bridge district spokeswoman.

There is one big reason the BART strike is not having a major impact on Marin: The transit system never made it to the county, though that was part of the original plan.

BART trains rolling across a lower deck of the Golden Gate Bridge, delivering thousands of workers to and from San Francisco and points beyond, almost was a reality.

Marin — along with San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo counties — was part of the planned service area as BART studies were launched in the 1950s. Marin even spent $225,000 on planning, equivalent to about $2 million today.

Maps were drawn for BART in Marin showing stations in Sausalito, Mill Valley, Corte Madera and Santa Venetia, with a possible extension to Ignacio. A 1956 poll found 87.7 percent of Marin residents wanted BART in the county.

A 1955 study by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission found that the Golden Gate Bridge was capable of handling BART trains on a lower deck, and a second study in 1961 affirmed the conclusion.

But some bridge officials worried the sleek new transit system could cut into its toll revenue. Bridge officials hired an engineer who concluded BART on the span would not work, saying the added weight would stress cables and cause the span to sag.

BART in Marin took another hit when San Mateo County pulled out of the plan, saying costs were too high. With San Mateo out, the tax base to support the BART plan was significantly weakened. Marin's small population would not provide much tax base to support the project with San Mateo County no longer in the plan. (San Mateo eventually bought into the BART system, but is not officially part of the district.)

BART directors then asked the Marin County Board of Supervisors to vote the county out of the system.

"There is one significant difference — (San Mateo) withdrew voluntarily," Supervisor Peter Behr said at the time Marin withdrew in May 1962. "We are withdrawing involuntarily and upon request."

After that vote, Marin tried to get back in before the November 1962 election, but BART officials rejected the idea and the county was locked out of the system. In 1990, a BART extension to Marin was estimated to cost $3 billion.

Cynthia Murray, president of the North Bay Leadership Council — which represents businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions — said BART could have worked well in Marin.

"It would have been a good thing if the land use controls were in place," she said. "Think about the greenhouse gas emissions that would have been lessened by being connected to a large transit system. BART would have been an elegant solution to some of our transit congestion problems."

David Schnapf, president of the Marin Conservation League, isn't so sure the system would have provided benefits to the county.

"I think it's fair to say Marin would be a different place," he said. "It would have felt pressure to develop."

Contact Mark Prado via email at mprado@marinij.com; the Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.